I find that after several hours of work, programming, or internet addiction, my eyes need to be switched off to recuperate, and it would be nice if this didn't require retreating into a sealed crypt. A simple 100% opaque covering for the eyelids would be enough, (Why the hell aren't eyelids lightproof, anyway?) either inside or outside, but the coolest solution would be to implant that electromagnetic Suspended Particle stuff into the lens so that your eyes themselves can have a brightness control via a biofeedback interface, very useful during headaches and/or general meetings. Second generation models could even provide a computer interfaced alpha mask to selectively tone down uncomfortably bright point sources, (No more laser pointer dorks) act as a simple greyscale HUD, and provide selective transparency for other, more active display implants.-- Mharr, Sep 17 2001 That SPD stuff again http://www.refr-spd.com/default.htm [Mharr, Sep 17 2001, last modified Oct 04 2004] Yeah, c'mon! And why the hell aren't eardrums soundproof!?-- The Military, Sep 17 2001 Yup, implanted mirrorshades are a cyberpunk staple (now cliche).
Molly Millions also had the retractable razorblades under her fingernails.-- wiml, Sep 17 2001 Sunglasses look cool. Travel masks let people know you are hung over (aka. sleeping). Sorry [Mharr], while it's not a bad idea, I personally wouldn't go through the trouble of surgery for something whose substitute costs under five bucks.-- sdm, Sep 17 2001 I'd have more than a little trouble putting my contacts on, too.-- jetgrrl, Sep 17 2001 Not everyone can wear contacts, and the models of sunglasses that fit over spectacles do not look anything approaching cool. Trust me on this. :) Tinted specs let evil, evil sunlight in via peripheral vision, and I'd just lose them anyway..-- Mharr, May 10 2002 Er... stop me if i'm wrong, or just wrecking a good idea with irrelevent facts, but... isn't the skin of your face, especially eye-lids and forehead, as sensitive to sunlight as your actual eyes - at least when it comes to determining whether it's time to sleep.-- sadie, May 10 2002 I was going to post an idea about thicker eyelids (using an opaque flexible, flesh-colored plastic), and this turned up in my pre-post search. My idea was going to be to modify the eyelids to be opaque enough so that I don't need a sleepmask at night when my wife is reading in bed (especially now that the weather is getting warmer!)-- mwburden, May 16 2002 random, halfbakery